Package provided with a coupon and method for obtaining said package

ABSTRACT

A wrapping for an object includes an opening line made up of a tear tape by which the user opens the wrapping in order to gain access to its contents. A coupon bearing markings for publicity or other reasons is attached to a face of the wrapped object. The coupon also includes an opening line allowing access to information contained on inner pages of a coupon. The opening line of the wrapping and the opening line of the coupon are juxtaposed so that the user simultaneously opens the coupon and the wrapping.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wrapping provided with a publicity orother coupon on at least one of its outside faces, as well as to aprocess permitting such a wrapping to be made.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wrappings, especially but not exclusively cigarette packs, are foundprovided on one face with a coupon which can be opened in order to beread, said coupon bearing publicity indications, directions for use,indications for a contest, or any other appropriate indications.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,935 describes a pack of cigarettes provided withsuch a coupon disposed under the transparent film covering the pack ofcigarettes. Such an arrangement necessitates removing the transparentfilm completely before being able to get to the coupon. On the otherhand, in view of the necessity of the transparent film, this arrangementcannot be adapted to a wrapping made up of a single layer, i.e., withoutthe outside transparent film. Another drawback of the means proposed isthat it is not possible to open the pack of cigarettes and the couponsimultaneously.

EP Application No. EP-A-0 803 450 also describes a pack of cigarettesprovided with a tax coupon under the outside transparent film. Seeingthat the coupon is attached to the surface of the web of film which willbe situated against the pack of cigarettes, it is necessary to providefor an additional step at the time of production of the film in order todispose the tear tape simultaneously permitting opening of thetransparent film and tearing of the tax coupon. Note that in this case,the tax coupon is not intended to be read after opening of the pack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the invention is therefore to propose a wrapping ofone or of a plurality of packs or of objects, provided on at least oneof its outside faces with a closed coupon, the means for opening thewrapping and the coupon being coordinated in such a way that opening ofthe wrapping causes simultaneous opening of the coupon.

A second object of the invention is to permit such an arrangement to beadapted to all sorts of wrappings, especially but not exclusively towrappings of packs of cigarettes, of the stiff or soft type including anoutside wrapping film or of the soft type made up of a single thickness,i.e., without the outer film.

A third object of the invention is to permit such an arrangement to beadapted to all sorts of coupons, e.g., coupons partially or totallycovering one or two faces of the wrapping, coupons of various shapes andsizes, coupons which can contain an inner insert unfoldable in any way,coupons which can contain a detachable insert, etc.

Another object of the invention is to propose at least one process forproducing such a wrapping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Several particular embodiments of a wrapping according to the inventionor of a manufacturing process are described below, the description to beconsidered with reference to the accompanying drawing comprising figuresin which:

FIG. 1 represents a first embodiment of a wrapping provided with acoupon according to the invention, in a closed state,

FIG. 2 represents the same wrapping as that of FIG. 1 when a portion ofthe transparent film has been removed and the coupon is open,

FIG. 3 represents another embodiment of a wrapping provided with acoupon,

FIG. 4 represents still another embodiment of a wrapping provided with acoupon,

FIG. 5 represents still another embodiment of a wrapping provided with acoupon,

FIGS. 6A and 6B are cross-sections of a first embodiment of a coupon, inclosed state and in open state, respectively,

FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sections of another embodiment of a coupon, inclosed state and in open state, respectively,

FIG. 8 describes diagrammatically a first process permitting a wrappingprovided with a coupon to be obtained, and

FIG. 9 describes diagrammatically another process permitting a wrappingprovided with a coupon to be obtained.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although the figures and the following description relate to a pack ofcigarettes, the concepts of pack and of wrapping must be extended to anytype of wrapping of any product on which a coupon can be disposedaccording to one or the other of the ways described. The shape of thewrapping need also not be that of a parallelepiped as shown, but may beof a different shape, e.g., circular cylindrical.

In FIG. 1 there is a pack of cigarettes 1, e.g., of the stiff type,covered with a film 2 of a preferably transparent material such ascellophane, polypropylene, or any other material customarily used forthis purpose. Here the pack 1 is provided with a coupon 3 disposed onone of its faces, outside the film 2. The outside face 30 of the coupon3 is visible and may bear a logo, a publicity indication, or any otherindication. At the time of the sale of the pack 1, the coupon 3 must beclosed; it must be possible to open it to read the information itcontains or to get to its contents only at the time of or after openingof the pack 1. The way in which the coupon 3 is closed is described indetail below with reference to the explanations concerning FIG. 6A.

For opening the pack 1, the film 2 is conventionally provided here witha tear tape 20, integrated in the film 2 and going around the side facesof the pack 1, one end of the tear tape 20 being provided with a teartongue 21, shown here unfolded for being grasped. The coupon 3 isprovided with a line 31, the mechanical resistance of which is weakened,e.g., by successive perforations, this line of weakened resistance 31being disposed essentially parallel to and facing a portion of the teartape 20. The line of weakened resistance separates the coupon 3 into twoportions, a first portion 300, the larger one, which is attached to theportion 22 of the film 2 which will remain on the pack 1 after itsopening, and a second portion 301 which is attached to the portion 23 ofthe film 2 which will be removed at the time of opening of the pack 1,then disposed of. Thus, in view of the congruence of the line 31 on thetear tape 20, at the time of opening of the pack 1 by pulling on thetear tape 20 to remove the upper portion 23 of the film 2, the coupon 3is opened simultaneously, permitting the user to get to the informationit contains.

FIG. 2 shows the same pack when the tear tape 20 and the upper portion23 of the film 2 have been removed, leaving the lower portion 22 of thefilm 2 on the pack 1, to which portion the coupon 3 is attached. Theupper portion 10 of the pack 1 may now be opened conventionally to getto the cigarettes or other objects it contains. Simultaneously, thefaces or inside pages 302 and 303 of the coupon 3 which could not bereached previously when the wrapping was closed are now accessible byunfolding the coupon 3 about a fold 32.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of a pack of cigarettes 1, the wrapping4 of which is obtained from a single sheet of a single layer, asdescribed in EP Patent No. EP-B-0 633 201, for example. Such a wrappingrelating to a soft-type pack of cigarettes does not include the film 2of the previous wrapping. Such a wrapping may be provided with a teartape 40 and with a tear tongue 41. The coupon 3 is shown here inessentially circular shape but might also be of a different shape,including a fold 32 for opening as mentioned previously, as well as aline of weakened resistance 31.

In the above embodiments, it is noted that the top face of the pack 1includes the folded closures of the film 2 for the embodiment of FIG. 1,or of the wrapping blank 4 for the embodiment of FIG. 3. Such anarrangement of a face prevents disposing the tear tape there in view ofthe superimposition of the folded layers. Nevertheless, if it is desiredto dispose a coupon 3 on a face of the pack 1 comprising folds of thefilm or of the wrapping sheet as, for example, the top face or thebottom face, it is possible to fit out the pack 1 as shown in FIG. 4,i.e., by providing that the tear tape 20 is disposed close to the edgeof the top face and attaching the main portion 300 of the coupon 3essentially to the top face, while the portion 301 is folded down on aside face so that the line of weakened resistance 31 is superimposed ona portion of the tear tape 20.

FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of a coupon 3 which here opensinto two sections. The coupon 3 shown here essentially covers a wholeface of the pack 1. The tear tape 20 is no longer disposed close to anedge of the coupon 3 but in a more central position, so that the couponopens into two opposing sections. In the example shown in the figure,the tear tape 20 has been removed, which has torn the line ofpre-weakened resistance 31 of the coupon 3 and permitted the twosections to be opened. It is not necessary for the two portions 300 and301 of the coupon 3 to be of equal size; one or the other of the twosaid portions may be larger than the other. Similarly, it is notobligatory for the coupon 3 to be disposed so that the opening line 31is parallel to the folding line 32; by disposing these two lines at acertain angle to one another, the two sections may be given differentshapes. The portion 301 attached to the portion 23 of the wrapping to bedisposed of may, for example, adhere there so that it can easily bepartially or totally detached therefrom, or else contain a detachableself-adhesive insert 35. According to a modification of this embodiment,the portion 300 of the coupon is disposed on a frontal or lateral faceof the pack, while the portion 301 is disposed on a top face of thepack, as shown in FIG. 4. Such a modification is particularly welladapted to a soft-type, single-layer pack, as described above.

FIGS. 6A and 6B, as well as 7A and 7B, show, in section, two possibleembodiments of a coupon 3.

In FIG. 6A, the coupon 3 is formed of a leaf, folded about a foldingline forming a fold 32, the portion 320 of the coupon 3 opposite thefold 32 being closed, e.g., by a closure means, e.g., a spot or a lineof glue 321, or by crimping, so as to keep the coupon closed beforeopening of the wrapping. It is also possible, instead of a folded leaf,to have two leaves assembled along the line 32, as well as on theopposite portion 320. The line 31 of pre-weakened resistance, e.g., apre-cut line laid out on the two superimposed portions of the leaf, ishere disposed close to this closure line 321, the line of weakenedresistance 31 separating the coupon 3 into a main portion 300 andanother portion 301. The face of this assembly, opposite the face 30which is visible on the outside of the pack 1, is glued at leastpartially to a corresponding portion of the film 2, so that the line ofpre-weakened resistance 31 is parallel to and approximately superimposedon a portion of the tear tape 20, the main portion 300 of the coupon 3is superimposed on the portion 22 of the film 2 which will subsequentlyremain on the pack 1, and the other portion 301 of the coupon 3 bearingthe closure line 321 is superimposed on the portion 23 of the film 2which will be removed after opening of the pack 1. Preferably, the faceof the coupon 3 to be glued on the film 2 is self-adhesive, but it isalso possible to provide for a few gluing spots or lines 33. For goodopening of the coupon 3, it is necessary that at least the portion 331(cf. FIG. 1) of coupon 3, bearing the end of the line of pre-weakenedresistance 31 at which the opening of the coupon 3 is started, be wellglued by the gluing line 330 to the corresponding portion of the film 2bearing the tear strip 20. In this way, when the user removes the tearstrip 20, the corresponding portion of the coupon 3 remains attachedthereto, and its opening is facilitated.

FIG. 6B shows the same coupon 3 after its opening, and the opening ofthe film 2, respectively. For this purpose, the user has pulled on thetear tape 20, separating the film 2 into its two portions 22 and 23. Themain portion 300 of the coupon 3 remains attached to the portion 22 ofthe film 2 which remains on the pack 1, whereas the portion 301 of thecoupon 3 is disposed of with the portion 23 of the film 2. In view ofthe opening of the line of pre-weakened resistance, it now becomespossible to open the coupon 3 by unfolding it about the fold 32 and toread the information contained on the inner pages 302 and 303 of thecoupon 3.

As indicated above with reference to FIG. 5, it is not necessary for theline of pre-weakened resistance 31 to be disposed close to the portion320 of the coupon, but it may be disposed at any location between thisportion and the fold 32.

FIG. 7A shows a coupon 3 according to another embodiment. The coupon 3is essentially made up and is attached exactly in the same way as thatdescribed just previously, except that a second leaf 34 folded, e.g., inaccordion pleats, and attached by gluing 340 to a portion of the face303 of the first leaf near the fold 32. The length of each folded pageof the leaf 34 is such that these pages do not intercept the line ofpre-weakened resistance 31 of the first leaf. As mentioned previously,after opening of the pack and of the coupon 3, it is possible to get tothe pages 341 to 346 of the leaf 34 in addition to the pages 302 and 303of the first leaf.

As a modification, it is possible to dispose a self-adhesive insert 35on any one of the pages 341 to 346 or 302 and 303; this self-adhesiveinsert may represent points to be collected, a voucher for participationin a contest or a lottery, or any other object of the same kind; saidinsert 35 can be unstuck when the coupon 3 is open. Such an insert mayobviously be provided for on a coupon according to the first embodimentdescribed.

The embodiments described of a coupon 3 disposed on a film 2 areobviously also valid for the same coupon 3 disposed on a wrapping sheet4 as in the embodiment of the wrapping of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 6A and 6B, as well as 7A and 7B, show two possible embodiments ofa coupon 3 among numerous possibilities; in particular, the coupon 3 maybe made up of more than two leaves, possibly folded or glued in adifferent way from what has been shown; each leaf may include a numberof pages other than what has been described; the make-up of the coupon 3may be different, e.g., in the form of a little booklet rather than ofpages unfoldable in accordion pleats. The length and width dimensions ofthe coupon 3 are essentially determined by those of the face of the pack1 to which the coupon 3 will be glued. It is seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 thatthe coupon covers a portion of a frontal face, whereas the coupon ofFIG. 5 completely covers a face and that of FIG. 4 partially covers twoadjacent faces. FIG. 3 shows that the coupon 3 may be of a shape otherthan square or rectangular. The line of weakened resistance 31 may be ofany appropriate type, e.g., a tear strip, a perforated line, or a lineof locally reduced thickness. Preferably, the coupon 3 closed asindicated previously and provided with its line of pre-weakenedresistance 31, provided with a self-sticking adhesion layer or not, isobtained as is from the coupon manufacturer to be applied to thewrapping as described below.

As concerns the wrapping, it has been stated that it may be a hard-typeor soft-type wrapping, covered with a outside protective film or not,not exclusively intended to wrap cigarettes or other products of thetobacco industry. In fact, from the foregoing description, it isunderstood that a coupon 3, according to any one of the described orpossible embodiments, may be disposed on the outermost layer of any typeof wrapping comprising an opening means similar to a tear tape. It may,as described, have to do with the wrapping of some sort of products ofthe tobacco industry, of the food industry, or another industry; thewrapping concerned here may be an outside wrapping which wraps aplurality of packs or objects of any shape, such as a wrapping of acarton of cigarettes, for example. The possible opening means ormechanism of the wrapping capable of functioning as described may beslightly different from what has been described, e.g., the tear tape 20or 40 may be replaced by a tear thread disposed inside the wrapping andfollowing the same path as described for the tear strip. It may also bea line of pre-weakened resistance, obtained for instance by successiveperforations or, more generally, by a reduction of the mechanicalresistance to traction along a given line of the wrapping, e.g., a localreduction of thickness of the wrapping sheet obtained by any knownmeans.

Several processes can be envisaged permitting such a wrapping providedwith a coupon 3 to be obtained.

FIG. 8 shows very diagrammatically a first example of a process forobtaining a wrapping provided with a coupon according any of theembodiments or modifications described. This process is based on thefact that the coupon 3 is to be placed on the outside of the wrappingand that it may therefore be placed on the pack 1 of which the wrappingis finished.

On a machine portion 5 on which the packs 1 circulate or are carried,e.g., on an endless belt 50, in the direction indicated by the arrow,there is a distributor 51, known per se, equipped with a reservoirfilled with coupons 3. A sensor 53, e.g., a photoelectric cell, permitsdetection of the presence and position of a pack 1 within the radius ofaction of the distributor 51 and, via the control unit 54, controls theactuating of the distributor 51 in order for it to place a coupon 3 onthe pack 1 detected, according to a position calculated so as to causethe line of pre-weakened resistance of the coupon 3 to correspond tothat of the wrapping of the pack 1. If the back of the coupon 3 isself-adhesive, it adheres directly to the wrapping. If not, asupplementary device 55 for applying spots of glue, lines of glue, or aglued surface is also controlled by the control unit 54 in order toprepare the gluing on a pack 1 before application of the coupon 3.

The advantage of this process is that the equipment necessary is of avery simple design, not cumbersome, and may be installed on any portionof a machine 5 where the packs I circulate as described. It may even beinstalled on a simple installation for the transfer of packs 1.

FIG. 9 also shows very diagrammatically another example of a process forobtaining a wrapping provided with a coupon according to any of theembodiments or modifications described. In this case, the coupon 3 isdisposed on the wrapping portion before it is applied to the object orpack to be wrapped.

The machine portion 6 shown here is, for example, the portion of amachine for preparation of a wrapping starting from a web 200 of thematerial intended to form the wrapping, said web being unrolled from areel not shown in the figure. Drive means, also not shown, drive the web200 in the direction indicated by the arrow. A cutting means, diagrammedas the rotary cutter 61 and the counter-roller 610, sequentially cutsthe web 200 in order to form the blanks intended to become the wrappings2. Actuating of the rotary cutter 61 is controlled by the control unit75. After cutting of the web 200, the blanks are treated in a mannerknown per se so that each constitutes a wrapping 2. The first line ofpre-weakened resistance 20 has generally already been madelongitudinally on the web 200.

The device described above is supplemented here by a placing arm 7 knownper se, used here for placing coupons 3. The placing arm 7 includesmeans for supporting a first reel 70 of a tape 71 to which the coupons 3adhere temporarily, being disposed one after the other on the tape 71,slightly spaced from one another. The placing arm 7 also includes meansfor supporting a second reel 72 responsible for winding up the tape 71after the coupons 3 have been detached from it in a manner known per sewithin the placing arm 7. Each coupon 3 detached is then brought, bypneumatic or other means, onto a placing finger 73 placed in immediateproximity to the portion of the web 200 in movement immediatelypreceding the rotary cutter 61, the placing finger 73 applying thecoupon 3 to said portion, in such a way that the line of pre-weakenedresistance 31 of the coupon is placed facing the first line ofpre-weakened resistance existing on the web 200 by a correct lateralkeying of the placing finger 73 relative to the width of the web 200. Aplane support surface 74 may be provided on the other side of saidportion in order to offer a stable support at the time of thisoperation. As mentioned previously, the coupon 3 may be self-adhesive,or else glue-placing means similar to those described above may beprovided for causing the coupon 3 to adhere to the web 200. The controlunit 75 ensures the synchronization of the action of the placing finger73 with the rotary cutter 61 so that each coupon 3 is placed correctly,i.e., that its placement position along the web 200 corresponds to thelocation corresponding to the face of the finished wrapping on which itis to be placed.

This example of a process for placing the coupon 3 is solelyillustrative of a way of applying the coupon 3 to a web 200 of theproduct intended to constitute the wrapping. Other devices for treatmentof a web 200 are known, all generally being able to be equipped with aplacement arm 7, synchronized with some means of the machine so as toalign the two lines of pre-weakened resistance and to position thecoupon on the web.

It is obviously also possible to equip an installation for transferringwrapped packs, as shown in FIG. 8, with a placing arm 7 as shown in FIG.9, just as it is also possible to equip the installation for preparing awrapping from a web, shown in FIG. 9, with a distributor 51 as shown inFIG. 8.

Tests have shown that for good simultaneous opening of the wrapping andthe coupon, it is not absolutely necessary for the two lines ofpre-weakened is resistance, of the coupon and of the wrapping, to beexactly superimposed, a certain lateral positioning tolerance on theorder of 1 mm being permissible and/or preferred.

Although the embodiment has been described in relation to the coupon 3,any form of information or decorative flyer can be used in place of, orin combination with, a coupon.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wrapping of an object, said wrappingcomprising: an outside wrapping sheet provided with an opening mechanismcomprising a first opening line disposed on at least one face of saidwrapping; and at least one of a closed coupon and a flyer being attachedto at least a portion of at least one outer face of said outsidewrapping sheet, said at least one of a coupon and a flyer being providedwith a second opening line disposed so that the opening of the wrappingby the opening mechanism causes a simultaneous opening of the at leastone of a coupon and a flyer.
 2. The wrapping according to claim 1,wherein: the at least one of a coupon and a flyer is made up of at leastone leaf folded along at least one folding line, the portion of said atleast one leaf opposite the at least one folding line being closed; saidsecond opening line being disposed between the at least one folding lineand said closed opposite portion, the at least one of a coupon and aflyer being attached to the wrapping in such a way that said secondopening line is disposed parallel and in immediate proximity to at leastone portion of said first opening line; and said at least one of acoupon and a flyer including a first portion disposed between the atleast one folding line and the second opening line, as well as a secondportion disposed between the second opening line and said closedopposite portion, said first portion of the at least one of a coupon anda flyer being attached to a first portion of the wrapping, while saidsecond portion of the at least one of a coupon and a flyer is attachedto a second portion of the wrapping.
 3. The wrapping according to claim1, wherein the first opening line comprises a tear tape.
 4. The wrappingaccording to claim 1, wherein the first opening line comprises a firstline of weakened mechanical resistance and a tear thread superimposed onsaid first opening line and disposed on the inner face of said outsidewrapping sheet.
 5. The wrapping according to claim 4, wherein at leastone of the first and the second lines of weakened resistance comprises aperforated line.
 6. The wrapping according to claim 4, wherein at leastone of the first and the second lines of weakened resistance comprises aline of reduced thickness.
 7. The wrapping according to claim 1, whereinthe second opening line comprises a second line of weakened mechanicalresistance.
 8. The wrapping according to claim 1, wherein at least aportion of the at least one of a coupon and a flyer is attached to aside face of the wrapping.
 9. The wrapping according to claim 8, whereina portion of the at least one of a coupon and a flyer is attached to anend face of the wrapping.
 10. The wrapping according to claim 1, whereinthe at least one of a coupon and a flyer includes an inside insertcapable of being unfolded after opening of the at least one of a couponand a flyer and of the wrapping, respectively.
 11. The wrappingaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one of a coupon and a flyerincludes a detachable inside insert.
 12. The wrapping according to claim1, wherein at least the portion of the face of the at least one of acoupon and a flyer applied to the wrapping, including the end of thesecond opening line at which the opening of the at least one of a couponand a flyer will be started, is glued to said wrapping.
 13. The wrappingaccording to claim 1, containing one or more products of the foodindustry.
 14. A carton containing a plurality of packs of products ofthe tobacco industry, the carton being provided with the wrappingaccording to claim
 1. 15. A pack of products of the tobacco industryprovided with the wrapping according to claim
 1. 16. A process forproducing the wrapping according to claim 1, comprising: moving anobject wrapped with said outside wrapping sheet in a given directionthrough a machine; detecting the position of the object in a givenlocation of the machine with a sensor; indicating to a device forapplying at least one of a coupon and a flyer the position of the objectwhen the object is disposed facing the device; and applying at least oneof a coupon and a flyer with said device to said object wrapped withsaid outside wrapping sheet.
 17. The process according to claim 16,wherein the device for applying at least one of a coupon and a flyer isa distributor for at least one of a coupon and a flyer.
 18. The processaccording to claim 16, wherein the device for applying at least one of acoupon and a flyer is a placing arm bearing a support tape to which theat least one of a coupon and a flyer are successively, non-permanentlyattached, said placing arm detaching the at least one of a coupon and aflyer from said support tape and applying said at least one of a couponand a flyer to the object wrapped with said outside wrapping sheet. 19.The process according to claim 18, wherein a glue applicator applies oneor more spots, one or more lines, or a surface of glue to the wrappingbefore application of the at least one of a coupon and a flyer to saidoutside wrapping sheet.
 20. A process for producing the wrappingaccording to claim 1, comprising: moving a web of the material intendedt o make u p s aid wrapping in a given direction on awrapping-preparation machine; sequentially applying at least one of acoupon and a flyer with a device to a corresponding portion of said web,said application being controlled by a control unit capable ofsynchronizing the application of the at least one of a coupon and aflyer with operation of the wrapping-preparation machine.
 21. Theprocess according to claim 20, wherein a glue applicator applies one ormore spots, one or more lines, or a surface of glue to the wrappingbefore application of the at least one of a coupon and a flyer to saidwrapping or said web.
 22. The process according to claim 20, wherein thedevice for applying at least one of a coupon and a flyer is adistributor for at least one of a coupon and a flyer.
 23. The processaccording to claim 22, wherein a glue applicator applies one or morespots, one or more lines, or a surface of glue to the wrapping beforeapplication of the at least one of a coupon and a flyer to said wrappingor said web.
 24. The process according to claim 20, wherein the devicefor applying at least one of a coupon and a flyer is a placing armbearing a support tape to which the at least one of a coupon and a flyerare successively, non-permanently attached, said placing arm detachingthe at least one of a coupon and a flyer from said support tape andapplying said at least one of a coupon and a flyer to the web.
 25. Theprocess according to claim 24, wherein a glue applicator applies one ormore spots, one or more lines, or a surface of glue to the wrappingbefore application of the at least one of a coupon and a flyer to saidwrapping or said web.